No to air strikes in Syria

No to air strikes in Syria

Within days the USA and Britain are planning an attack on Syria. The recall of Parliament is expected to back the military action at an emergency meeting convened for Thursday 29th August. 

The situation in Syria has changed so much since the initial promise of the Arab Spring.

Minority groups of Christians and Alawites have felt threatened by the growing Islamic Sunni reaction to the potential of the Arab Spring.

The rebels in Syria are not a mass movement for change but an attempt by one armed group supported by foreign mercenaries to simply replace Assad with a fundamentalist regime.

Worried by the rise of Jihadists in the opposition forces the US has been supplying arms and by training the Free Syrian Army.

The Assad regime is clearly winning the war which has pushed the US to direct intervention in order to prevent Assad’s military advance.

The chemical weapons attack on August 21^st killed hundreds of civilians including many children this is now being used as justification for American military action.

We don't know what circumstances are surrounding the use of chemical weapons in Syria but the Americans and opposition groups have no interest in establishing the truth.

 United Nations could play a role in preventing the conflict but we don’t want another dodgy dossier of false evidence.

What are the real aims of military intervention in Syria.

After more than 100,000 deaths in this bloody civil war in Syria over the last two years, the US government is now suddenly becoming extremely concerned by the killing of women and children and innocent civilians. How many have been killed before by weapons supplied by western  powers to one or the other sides of this bloody proxy war.

Conventional weapons have been used to kill thousands of civilians but that wasn’t enough to cross of red line for America and Britain.

Cruise missiles do not discriminate between military personnel and civilians when they strike Syria.   It is the ordinary Syrian people who will be the victims of the destruction of energy and water supplies. 

What are the real aims of American intervention?

The declared aim to destroy the deposits of chemical weapons is laughable, the Assad regime will have used the past months to protect their stocks of weapons and defend against air strikes.

From the Americans point of view a long stalemate in hostilities is preferable to one side getting the upper hand.

So airstrikes are being used to restrict the Syrians army’s ability to mount an offensive against the opposition.

The most plausible aim of US intervention seems to us to be that of seriously affecting the Syrian army's ability of taking advantage of the momentum gained in their offensive against the opposition armies. 

We will then see a so called peace conference leaving the monster Assad in power an allowed to attack opponents at will.

There is also a danger that Syria could be used as a proxy for a phoney war between America and its allies and Russia.

The Russian military has already delivered advanced surface-to-air missile batteries for Assad.  The US Navy has deployed in the area in recent days. And has the option to strike Syria from air force bases in several Mediterranean countries.

Russia has also established of a permanent presence in the Mediterranean and has moved several large landing ships to the area.

Over the coming days we will see the media propaganda aimed at building public opinion to support military action in Syria.

Military action should be opposed.  The Syrian people are being used as cannon fodder for the games played by the USA and Russian politicians.

What is required in Syria are decent living standards, jobs, cheap plentiful food supplies and an end to corrupt and brutal regimes.

For the mass of people in Syria the military action of the USA nor the Assad regime offer a way out, what is required is the overthrow of the Assad regime by the mass of working people and the organisation of society not based on religion but on the need of the population.

There will be no end to cuts.

The message from Osborne’s Autumn Statement is absolutely clear.

 

THERE WILL BE NO END TO CUTS.

 

It doesn’t actually matter what Labour Councils do. Which services they want to save.  The cuts in April will be followed by more cuts in 2014 2015 2016 and 2017 and it won’t stop there.  This is the new normal, austerity as far as anyone can see.

 

The situation in Greece is were Britain will be in a few years time.

 

Under Osborne and the ConDem Government Britain is within weeks of losing its AAA credit rating.  This is the start of a slippery slope, which will lead to higher interest rates, and higher mortgage payments for millions of already hard pressed working families.

 

Cuts in spending are sucking the life out of the economy of cities like Hull; reducing demand leads to a spiral of decline leading to even deeper cuts in the future.  Osborne won’t stop digging.

 

Labour Councillors are now being put on the spot.  We have a choice: implement the Tories cuts for them or organise a fight back.

 

Already this week we have seen John McDonnell write to every Labour MP asking them vote against the Welfare Cuts Bill,  http://l-r-c.org.uk/news/story/lets-seize-upon-this-opportunity-to-fight-poverty-says-john-mcdonnell-mp/

 

This is in addition to the rally call made by Owen Jones in his article http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/come-on-you-local-councillors-resist-these-cuts-8166546.html

 

And locally we have seen the tremendous response to the campaign on the NHS led by local Labour Party members Dermot Rathbone and Danny Marten.

 

In the past Labour Councils have followed a dented shield policy protecting services in any way they could.  The right wing of the party want to carry on implementing Tory cuts in order to stop Pickles taking control of the council. We can’t give in to this blackmail.

 

The trouble is it will be Labour Councillors who get the blame for cuts if we simply implement them without a fight.

 

Labour councillors were not elected to implement cuts many were elected on a programme of fighting cuts imposed by the previous Liberal Democrat administration.

 

We need to organise the fight back.  Demand the return of the money taken from the city. Call a conference in the city of every ward branch every Labour Councillor and affiliated trade unions and include community groups. We need to organise public meetings on the cuts in every ward and we need to stand firm against the Tory government.

Up-dated version of famous drawing

A Sad Day for the Tax Payers Alliance

http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/grassroots/2011/11/sad-day-democracy-east-yorkshire.html

Does the economy need a plan B.

Does the economy need a plan B.

For anyone interested in the current economic crisis the Bloomberg app is a must have. 24 coverage of the massive swings in stock markets and bond yields.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world everywhere you turn is the same.

Today stock markets around the world have risen, but it can only be temporary the crisis has not been resolved.

The unprecedented situation means we are moving at lightening speed from one boom to bust and from crisis to crisis.

The chart below show the falls in the US stock market between 1929 and 1930 as every recovery was cheered it was followed by a further fall.





Despite printing huge sums of money and pumping billions into the worlds financial markets the crisis has not been resolved. The strategists for capitalism are at their wits end in trying to resolve the problem as we head into a double dip recession.

Governments around the world are unable to alter the situation or the direction of travel.

The Greek debt problem will pass from country to country as first Portugal then Ireland and even Italy get dragged into the mess.

European intervention has only delayed the problem by kicking the ball a few months into the future.

The break up of the Euro is inevitable the only question is will it be planned by the leaders in France and Germany or a chaotic collapse brought about by the markets.

The break-up of the Euro will lead to further attempts by countries to protect their currencies. Switzerland recently promised “unlimited fund” to protect it’s manufacturing industry.

The effect of Euro break-up will be felt worldwide.

Recent globalisation has allowed trade to boom but it’s reached its limit.

Austerity measures in country after country will reduce demand and suppress trade making the situation worse.

Its not that people don’t want houses and cars and things the problem is they don’t have the money to pay for them.

Since the 1980’s credit has been used to overcome this problem. But it can’t go on. Debt has to be repaid. With interest. Greek 2yr bonds are trading at melt down levels of interest.

The Tories have hyped up their austerity plans but in reality public spending is actually increasing.

Borrowing more money will only push the crisis back and result in a deeper dip in the economy.

Its not a plan B we need it’s a plan C

WikiLeaks

The WikiLeaks revelations have shown the cynical nature of government diplomacy. American and western governments have more in common with gangsterism than reasoned argument.
The aim of the US is to impose its will, with the threat of violence, backed up with actual violence, blackmail, bribery and corruption.
This applies to both friends and enemies,
The exposure by WikiLeaks of the crimes of the western governments has performed a great service. It has removed the veil of respectability that conceals the criminal activities of the official diplomacy.
The wars waged by U.S are terrible for millions of poor people, but terribly profitable for the big arms manufacturers.
Obama has not pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq.
One million people have been killed in Iraq since the invasion, and 90 percent of them were civilians.
These monstrous facts have been carefully hidden from the public in Britain and the United States. The same public was informed that the purpose of the Iraq war was to destroy non-existent weapons of mass destruction. When these did not appear it became transformed into a “war for Democracy”. The only crime of WikiLeaks is to lift the thick curtain of lies and deceit that conceals the truth. It is for this that they are hounded, slandered, persecuted, have their funds cut off and their leading figure arrested.
This kind of thing must be made public. The people whose taxes go to pay the arms billionaires must know the true purpose of the wars fought in their name.
A growing number of officials and military personnel are disgusted with what they see and hear and are inclined to leak it.
Bradley E Manning, the young soldier who leaked the most recent information, can expect no mercy in America. Julian Assange is not a U.S. citizen, and is not bound by U.S. laws.
Today, Bush and Blair are enjoying comfortable retirement. Yet the courageous individuals who have dared to expose the ugly reality of power politics are persecuted, hounded, arrested and even denied the elementary rights that are routinely granted to criminals.
In the USA politicians are calling for Julian Assange to be “taken out”– a feat which the CIA is quite capable of arranging.
The American government will stop at nothing to silence WikiLeaks. The CIA and its collaborators have orchestrated a noisy campaign of smears and baseless accusations concerning the personal life of their enemy.
Every person who loves democracy should be concerned about this case –
Assange was originally accused of four offences including of rape. The accusation of rape, splashed all over the front pages of the tabloid press, was suddenly dropped. It had served its purpose, which was to blacken his name. Now the Swedes argued that he was guilty of “unlawful coercion” and acting “in a way designed to violate sexual integrity”.
The charges are not new. They go back to August when Assange was charged with sexual assault. He responded by claiming he was being smeared: “the charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing”.
I am in no position to judge the truth of these allegations, but what is abundantly clear is that they are being used politically, and a fair trial is impossible under these circumstances.
That is the whole point. Washington is not interested in Mr. Assange’s sex life. They are interested in revenge. In preparation for the trial and imprisonment of the man they see as public enemy number one, they first soften up public opinion by destroying his moral reputation.
Of course, all this was just a pretext to prepare for the real business in hand: diplomatic sources have leaked that discussions have begun to extradite him to the USA from Sweden.
The Assenge case is about the defence of democratic rights.
In “democratic” Britain, the right to strike has been so restricted by anti-trade union laws that in many cases it has virtually been cancelled out. The legal rights of British citizens have been seriously eroded by the so-called “anti-terror” laws, which give the police wide powers to stop and search people, and to arrest and hold them for 28 days without their having been convicted by a court of law.
More recently, there has been an attempt to curtail the right to protest on the streets. In the recent student demonstrations, the police made use of the tactic of so-called “kettling”, whereby demonstrators are trapped by a police cordon for hours on end in freezing conditions, and denied access to food, water or toilet facilities.
People deserve to know what governments do in their name.
Documents that reveal the criminal activities carried out by governments and their secret services should be published

Every Cloud!

Lib Dems plan "Drivers Tax"

This article caught my eye outlining Lib Dem plans for a "Drivers Tax " of 8p per Kilometre.

The plans would charge car drivers and extra £3 per trip to Beverley or Brough and an extra £15 for every typical trip to Leeds. Bet we dont see this on any fib dem focus leaflet.

E-I-E-I-E-I-O

Well done tigers.

Fantastic result at Wembley and a great day out.

Three and Out

As a train driver you’ll have to excuse me for not seeing the funny side of people being killed on the railway.

So as you’re munching your popcorn, please take a moment to think about those people for whom railways deaths are a tragedy, not a comedy.

Lib Dems hit most vulnerable.

Lib Dems hit most vulnerable.

Lib Dem councillors have decided to hit the most vulnerable in society with the decision to end funding to the local CAB.

The decision is a kick in the teeth not only to the customers of the service but to the dozens of volunteers who provide much of the assistance.

At least some of the Lib Dem group are expressing concern at the decision

Time to go Robert

Time to go Robert


When Robert Mugabe came to power in Zimbabwe nearly thirty years ago it was on a wave of optimism for a better fairer society.

Brutal land grabs and hyper-inflation caused by simply printing money have left the whole county unable to feed itself and on the brink of bankruptcy.

It really is time for Mugabe to go. I hope the police and army refuse to support a continued grab for power by Mugabwe and the results of the elections are implemented.

East Hull Short List

Check your bank account

Check you bank account.

Residents in Hull are being urged to check their bank accounts today as thousands of council taxpayers have been overcharged by the cities Lib Dem bosses. Red faced officials have had to apologies to customers following the blunder which saw the council tax system disabled to stop further accounts being plundered

Happy New Year

Leisure Centre remains closed.

Liberal Democrats councillors are adamant that the Woodford Leisure centre in the East of the city will remain closed. Despite advice from council officers that the facility could be reopened. I understand from talking to officers this week in the Guildhall that the Liberal Democrats want to demolish the building.

“I’ll use floods to cover up closures” says Minns

Hull City Councils Liberal Democrat Leader Carl Minns has admitted that his administration is using the summer floods in the city as a cover to close council facilities. The admission comes as no surprise to many of us in the city as the Liberal Democrats are keen to hive off or close as many council services as possible.

Charles Kennedy Syndrome.

Officers at the Guildhall are said to becoming increasingly worried about the Liberal Democrat leader. As the officer said to me “he recently took time off sick suffering from stress”. I thinks its much more likely to be linked to the frequent liquid lunches.

Hull Lib Dems councils massive increase in consultants

Hull Lib Dems plan to spend thousands of pounds on additional consultants whilst at the same time makings 200 staff redundant. Lib Dem boss Andrew Sloan confirmed plans to take on additional consultants in the Highways Department at the councils scrutiny committee.